IT: Welcome to Derry editors Esther, Glenn and Matt had never worked together prior to the new HBO series, but quickly formed a family bond that translated into a fun and creative cutting room. Their antics included scaring unsuspecting tourists taking the Warner Brothers tram tour past their offices. And you know what Jack Torrance says about "all work and no play"! Developed by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, It: Welcome to Derry is based on Stephen King's 1986 novel It and is a prequel to the films It (2017) and It: Chapter Two (2019). The series takes place in 1962, when a couple and their son move to Derry, Maine just as a young boy disappears. With their arrival, bad things begin to happen in the town. Again.
ESTHER SOKOLOWEsther Sokolow is a Los Angeles-based editor who specializes in genre-rich storytelling, bold characters, and projects with cinematic scope. Esther's collaboration with IT: Welcome to Derry showrunner Andy Muschietti began on IT: Chapter Two, where she served as 1st Assistant Editor, and continued on The Flash, where she was promoted to Additional Editor. Her work bridges studio tentpoles and independent character dramas, with a focus on horror, psychological thrillers, and supernatural themes. Her early film diet of Hitchcock, classic mysteries, and silent comedies provided provided inspiration for an editor drawn to tension, timing, and the emotional weight of what's unspoken. Later, the spectacle of The Lord of the Rings sparked a love for scale and the thrill of stories that move an audience. Originally from Atlanta, she moved to California to study Film Editing at Chapman University. In 2015, she was selected as an honorary intern for American Cinema Editors (ACE), an experience that shaped her early career and inspired a commitment to both craft and mentorship. Esther now speaks on an annual panel for the ACE Internship Program and serves on MPEG's Apprenticeship and Growth Committee, supporting the next generation of editors and assistant editors. Before stepping into the editing chair, Esther worked as an assistant editor on feature films including Rampage, Bloodshot, The Guilty, Stronger, Fall, and Rememory. She also worked in-house as a VFX Editor at Method Studios, contributing to Guardians of the Galaxy and San Andreas. Her years supporting other editors honed more than technique; they taught her to listen to pacing, to performance, and to subtle story beats others might overlook. That same quiet attention now shapes her own work.
GLENN GARLAND, ACEGlenn Garland is television and film editor with more than twenty years of experience in the entertainment industry. In addition to cutting IT: Welcome To Derry, other impressive TV credits include Poker Face, The Vampire Diaries, Preacher, Banshee, Stan Against Evil, and Altered Carbon.
Glenn's equally notable feature resume includes editing Rob Zombie's Halloween and Halloween II, the critically acclaimed King of California, The Turning, Lords Of Salem, The Devil's Rejects, Black Box and most recently Broke. In addition to editing, Glenn has produced the television series Paradise City as well as feature films 31, Jersey Bred, LX 2048, The Man Who Was Thursday and most recently, Life Is. He has also created and hosts the podcast series Editors on Editing, which can be heard on Art of the Frame.
MATTHEW V. COLONNA, ACEAside from his work on It: Welcome to Derry, Matt's work can be seen on another Stephen King-inspired series, Castle Rock, and the King-adjacent series, Locke & Key. Other notable tv shows cut by Matt include Dexter (2008-09), Narcos (2015-17) and Sugar (2024). Matt also happens to be one of the original drummers for Black Eyed Peas. How about that?!
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WICKED: FOR GOOD editor, Myron Kerstein ACE finds himself in familiar post-production territory after taking a short break to enjoy the success of the first film in this two-part adaption of the musical megahit. This brief respit included Myron receiving an Oscar® nomination and an ACE Eddie win for his efforts. But this time out, Myron faces the challenge of closing out this story with a movie that is darker in tone with a more complex narrative. Adapted from the venerable Broadway smash, WICKED: FOR GOOD follows the journey of a young woman named Elphaba. Misunderstood and often outcast because of her green skin, Elphaba forges an unlikely but profound friendship with Glinda, a fellow student with an unflinching desire for popularity. Following an encounter with the Wizard of Oz, their relationship soon reaches a crossroad as their lives begin to take very different paths.
MYRON KERSTEIN, ACEIn addition to his musical experience with Jon M. Chu and Lin-Manuel Miranda, Myron also had a diverse pool of film and tv projects, including GARDEN STATE (2004), NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST (2008), LITTLE FOCKERS (2010), THE DUKES OF HAZARD (2005), FAME (2009), GIRLS (2015-17) and HOME BEFORE DARK (2020).
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Frankenstein editor Evan Schiff ACE first began his journey as an assistant editor on Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth (2006). Over the next, nearly two decades, Evan would establish himself as an action movie editor to be reckoned with. He would flex his cutting chops on films like John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019) and Bob Odenkirk's action debut, Nobody (2021). Evan would also drop by the MCU to cut The Marvels (2023). But to hear Evan tell it, it was hardly his skills as an action editor that would prompt Del Toro to hire his former assistant editor to cut Frankenstein. Produced, written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, and based on the 1818 novel by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein stars Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Christoph Waltz. The film follows the life of egotistical scientist Victor Frankenstein whose experiment in creating new life results in dangerous consequences when his monstrous creation comes to life.
EVAN SCHIFF ACE(In Evan's own words...) Originally from Syracuse, NY, I started my career in the film industry at the age of 16, between my junior and senior years of high school, with an internship at Stan Winston Studio (now Legacy EFX). After graduating from high school and being accepted into USC's film production program, SWS hired me back to do tech support as their Systems Administrator and eventually their in-house VFX Editor. I worked there part-time for all four years of college and full-time for one year after. While at USC, I got bit by the editing bug. I found that, even more than creature or visual effects, I loved sitting in the editing bay for hours on end putting my student films together. So a year after graduation, and five years after starting my job at Stan Winston's, I started to pursue editing full-time. It was slow at first, but eventually I got my first few jobs as an assistant editor, and things took off from there.
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KPop Demon Hunters editor Nathan Schauf was already a trusted teammember at Sony Pictures Animation (SPA) when has was asked to "lend a hand for a bit" on this new action-comedy musical. Not long after, lending a hand turned into leading the way, with Nathan leaning on his years of experience cutting animation to help craft the film into a worldwide hit that would become Netflix's most streamed content of all time. KPop Demon Hunters follows Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, a world-famous K-pop girl group known as Huntrix. Unbeknownst to their fans, Huntrix secretly uses their music and performance abilities to fight and protect the world from demons. While balancing their lives as global pop stars with their mission to keep demons sealed away, the group faces their biggest challenge when a rival, all-demon boy band called the Saja Boys emerges to steal their fans and threaten the world.
Nathan SchaufSince joining SPA in 2020, Nathan has contributed to an array of animated projects, including Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, the latest entry in the beloved monster franchise, and Genndy Tartakovsky's R-rated comedy Fixed. He has also played a key role in several other projects in development. With over 25 years of experience in the entertainment industry, Schauf's career spans animation, gaming, virtual reality, commercials, sports, and independent films.
Schauf earned a degree in Electronic Media and Communication with a minor in English from Texas Tech University. He currently resides in Orange County, California, with his wife, daughter, son, and their cat, Todd.
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One Battle After Another editor Andy Jurgensen came into his new film already "battle" tested with director Paul Thomas Anderson's unique film-based workflow. Shoot film. Print film dailies. Screen film dailies. Create digital workprint. Cut in Avid. Conform negative. But Paul loves a challenge, so he decided to not only make "One Battle" the first IMAX film presented entirely in the 1.43:1 ratio, but he also resurrected the VistaVision format for the first time in sixty years. Luckily, Andy loves a challenge too. One Battle After Another stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob, a washed-up revolutionary who lives in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited and self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis, Colonel Lockjaw (Sean Penn), resurfaces and Willa goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her as both father and daughter battle the consequences of their pasts.
ANDY JURGENSENAndy Jurgensen has worked with director Paul Thomas Anderson since their time together on Inherent Vice (2014). At that time, Andy was first assistant editor to Leslie Jones ACE. From there Andy served as associate editor to Dylan Tichenor ACE on Anderson's Phantom Thread (2017). Andy finally got his big break as a lead editor for Anderson's Licorice Pizza (2021). In addition to his work with Paul Thomas Anderson, Andy has also served as an assistant editor on a number of films with director Jay Roach, including The Campaign (2012), Trumbo (2015) and Bombshell (2019).
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Black Rabbit editors Viks, Ced and Kyle worked independently during post but still managed to collectively craft a complex narrative that stayed consistent in tone and style throughout the run of the series. And while new guy Reiter described feeling like a "bench player" on the team, Viks and Ced benefited from a long working relationship that began with Viks mentoring Ced as his former assistant. Regardless of any of their past experiences, star and producer Jason Bateman tasked the post team with creating a vibe that had tendencies drawn from Bateman's Netflix hit, Ozark but also from dark comedies like the Safdie brothers' Uncut Gems. Black Rabbit tells the tale of two brothers, Vince and Jake Friedken, former bandmates in a successful musical act whose lives went down different paths in the years that followed. Rising-star restaurateur Jake is forced into New York's criminal underworld when his chaotic brother returns to town with loan sharks on his trail, opens the door to escalating dangers that threaten to bring down everything he's built.
VIKASH PATELIn addition to his work on Black Rabbit, Viks won an Emmy® in 2008 for his work on TOP CHEF and was nominated for an Emmy® in 2020 for his work on OZARK. Viks has also edited series that include THE SYMPATHIZER (2024), THE MORNING SHOW (2019), BATES MOTEL (2015-16) and LONGMIRE (2012-14).
CEDRIC NAIRN-SMITHPrior to Black Rabbit, Cedric's editorial work could be seen on DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN (2025), MOON KNIGHT (2022), LISEY'S STORY (2021), THE BOYS (2019-2020) and BATES MOTEL (2015-2017).
KYLE REITER, ACE4x Emmy® nominee Reiter has edited such shows as MR. AND MRS. SMITH (2024), BARRY (2018) and ATLANTA (2016), a series for which Kyle would win an ACE Eddie award in 2019.
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The Paper editors Julie Cohen and David Rogers first began collaborating on another Greg Daniels series, Space Force. Although that series was not in the same "mock doc" format as The Paper, David's first show with Daniels was. And that series was The Office, where he served as both editor and director. Both Julie and David felt at home with The Paper's faux documentary format however, with David having worked on The Office and Julie receiving multiple Emmy nominations for her work on the unscripted series, Project Runway. The Paper follows up on the story from The Office, as the documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch discovers a disappearing Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters. This mockumentary follows the daily lives and struggles of dreamers in love with journalism, and their less-than-competent co-workers, trying to deliver accurate news without the resources or training to do a great job.
JULIE COHEN ACEJulie Cohen "loves to edit!" and considers herself lucky to have done it a lot over the last twenty years. She's edited across genres: documentary, reality, comedy, drama, sometimes all at once. Highlights include Project Runway, On Becoming a God in Central Florida, and Space Force. Most recently, she edited a bunch of episodes of Hulu's Tell Me Lies, starting with the pilot and including both season finales.
DAVID ROGERS ACEDavid Rogers wanted to be a director since seeing Superman The Movie at the age of 8, and shot videos and films throughout high school and college. Following that he would move to L.A. and work as an Assistant Editor and then Editor on such shows as Seinfeld, NewsRadio, Andy Richter Controls The Universe, Entourage, The Comeback, and The Office. David started directing on The Office and directed shows like Parks and Recreation and The Mindy Project, where he also served as Co-Executive Producer. David is also the owner of a huge Superman collection and a Knight Rider replica which he's currently in the process of modifying.
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Weapons editor Joe Murphy probably had no idea when he interviewed with Zach Cregger over a Zoom call that, in a relatively short amount of time, they would collaborate on not one, but two hit horror films. Regardless, Joe says that call wasn't just about getting to know each other, but also about ensuring a supportive and frank collaboration; key ingredients for him in being able to articulate the director's vision effectively. Weapons unfolds in chapters around six main characters, which presented a unique challenge in introducing new characters multiple times throughout the film. According to Joe, the key was finding the balance between familiarizing the audience with these characters while maintaining narrative momentum. Zach Cregger's Weapons follows the seemingly inexplicable case of seventeen children from the same classroom who mysteriously run away on the same night at the same time, having been apparently abducted by an unseen force.
Joe MurphyPrior to his work on Weapons, Joe cut such films as On Swift Horses (2024), Paper Soldiers (2020), and Zach Cregger's first horror feature, Barbarian (2022).
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FILM GEEK isn't just another notch on the IMDB belts of director, Richard Shepard and his friend and editor, Adam Lichtenstein. This is the story of Richard's cinematic "life" and the mysterious father who was his guide into that world. Deftly incoroporating clips from over 200 movies of the 70's and early 80's, FILM GEEK chronicles Richard's introduction and absorption into films both classic and forgotten, between the ages of 6 and 18. From there, Richard would make the transition from amateur 8MM auteur, to being an "all-in" film student at NYU, where he would begin his over thirty-year friendship and collaboration with Adam. And it is Adam whom Richard credits as drawing out the more personal aspects of his journey in FILM GEEK, most notably the story of his complicated but caring father.
RICHARD SHEPARDRichard Shepard is an Emmy and DGA-winning director/writer whose feature films include the Golden Globe nominated The Matador starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear, Dom Hemingway starring Jude Law and Richard E. Grant, and The Perfection starring Allison Williams and Logan Browning which was named one of the best horror films of the year by Rolling Stone, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and New York Magazine.
In his career, Shepard has directed ten television pilots to pick-up including Criminal Minds, now entering its 17th season; Ugly Betty for which Shepard won the Director's Guild award and Emmy award; the Golden Globe and Emmy nominated Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist; and Acapulco for Apple, now in its third season.
Through its six seasons, Shepard directed twelve episodes of the Golden Globe winning HBO series Girls, including the controversial "American Bitch" episode for which Matthew Rhys received an Emmy nomination, as well as several Emmy nominated episodes of The Handmaid's Tale. He recently directed the final two episodes of the multiple Emmy nominated Welcome to Chippendales a Hulu limited series.
Shepard's short film Tokyo Project starring Elisabeth Moss and Ebon Moss-Bachrach premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was bought by HBO, and his HBO documentary I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale was nominated for an Emmy award.
ADAM LICHTENSTEINBorn with a natural love for time code, Adam showed an early preference for non-drop frame, then rose through the editorial ranks pretending to enjoy sports, overusing terms like "shots on goal", "swish", "in your face" and "that's what I'm talking about" without the slightest idea what he was talking about.
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EENIE MEANIE editors Chris Patterson and Dirk Westervelt reunite after a six-year break from their first co-editing effort, ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP. From its indie vibe to its seventies-inspired aesthetic, EENIE MEANIE doesn't shy away from its influences. Chris shares how both he and writer/director Shawn Simmons gravitated towards filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh, drawing inspiration from classics like OUT OF SIGHT and OCEAN'S ELEVEN. EENIE MEANIE tells the story of Edie, a reformed teenage getaway driver who gets dragged back into her unsavoury past when a former employer offers her an opportunity to save the life of her chronically unreliable ex-boyfriend. The film was written and directed by Shawn Simmons, making his directorial debut.
CHRIS PATTERSONOn his way to co-editing ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP with Dirk, Chris began his career assisting on films such as THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (2001), ANALYZE THAT (2002), THE TOWN (2010), ZERO DARK THIRTY (2012) and READY PLAYER ONE (2018).
DIRK WESTERVELT ACEWhen he's not cutting for James Mangold on projects such as; LOGAN (2017), FORD v FERRARI (2019), and INDIANA JONES and THE DIAL OF DESTINY (2023), Dirk's editing chops can be seen in DEADPOOL 2 (2018) and ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP (2019).
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The Naked Gun editor Brian Scott Olds knows that comedy thrives on the elements of surprise and timing. He applied this philosophy to every aspect of the film—from physical gags to witty word play and silly sound design. But making a film that respects the legacy of its predecessor while updating its essence for today is no laughing matter. Brian and director Akiva Schaffer had a clear mission: maintain the comedic tone and tenor from the original while spoofing modern-day blockbusters like Mission Impossible. And stop calling me Shirley. Avika Schaffer's take on The Naked Gun features Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr (Liam Neeson) working as a police officer like his legendary father. In order to save Police Squad from shutting down he must solve the mystery behind.....oh, who cares?! This is The Naked Gun! The plot doesn't matter!
Brian Scott OldsEditor Brian Scott Olds is known for his work on Central Intelligence (2016), The Happytime Murders (2018), The King of Staten Island (2020) and Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022).
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